HSPT, ISEE & SSAT Prep

Applying to a private high school in the East Bay often involves an admissions test. The Catholic high schools use the HSPT, and the independent schools mostly use the ISEE or SSAT. Our UC Berkeley tutors offer one-on-one prep for all three, at your home or online.

The HSPT and the Catholic high schools

Bishop O’Dowd, Carondelet, De La Salle, Saint Mary’s College High School and the other Catholic high schools of the Diocese of Oakland give the High School Placement Test on a single shared Saturday in January. For students entering in fall 2027, that’s January 9, 2027. Students take it once, at one school, and send scores to the others, so preparation has to be finished by that morning. The test is timed and moves quickly through verbal skills, quantitative reasoning, reading, math and language, and pacing matters as much as content. We start in the fall, so a student can build up skills and take full practice tests before December.

ISEE and SSAT for independent schools

College Prep and Bentley ask applicants for the ISEE or SSAT, and College Prep wants testing finished by February 1, 2027. Bentley also offers an essay option in place of a test. The verbal and reasoning questions look unlike anything students see in class, and the math can include topics they haven’t covered yet, so focused prep helps a lot. Some schools, like Saklan and Seven Hills, use their own assessments for younger applicants instead.

How our tutors prepare students

The tutor starts with a diagnostic, focuses on the sections with the most room to grow and works on timing with full practice tests. Because our tutors are close in age, they’re also good at easing the nerves that come with a first big test.

Sessions are one-on-one, at your home or through online tutoring. Tell us which schools your student is applying to, and we’ll plan backward from the test date.